As a guest on Turkish news channel Bloomberg HT, Murat Eryılmaz, general manager of SteelOrbis, has commented on the World Steel Association’s expectations for higher steel demand in 2023. Noting that consumption will still remain below 2021 levels though an increase of 2.3 percent in global steel demand is expected, Mr. Eryılmaz said that rising energy costs, high inflation and increased interest rates have negatively affected steel demand by limiting investments.
According to the data from World Steel Association, Turkey’s steel consumption is expected to increase by 7.4 percent in 2023. The Turkish steel industry, which has been struggling in the export markets for some time and posted a 35-40 percent decline in exports in the first quarter this year, is also facing low demand in its domestic market, the SteelOrbis general manager noted. Steel demand in Turkey is anticipated to improve with the recovery in the construction sector amid reconstruction efforts after the earthquakes which hit Turkey in February. Pointing out that the Turkish steel industry has lost its competitiveness, Mr. Eryılmaz stated that Russia’s low-priced and large volumes of steel sales to Turkey and imports of flat steel from Asian countries have caused difficulties for Turkish steel producers, increasing the share of imports and decreasing Turkey’s steel export to import ratio.
Looking at the situation regionally, Mr. Eryılmaz stated that steel demand in Europe, which has now put its energy crises behind it, may increase in the second half this year with the easing of interest rates. As regards China, which accounts for more than half of global steel consumption, the general manager of SteelOrbis stated that steel demand from the construction sector in the country may recover on the back of the measures and incentive policies announced by the Chinese government. Eryılmaz said that the expectations for an increase in steel demand were mainly driven by Southeast Asian countries and India, adding that the countries in the region had not been affected much by the increases in energy costs.